Record-changing mechanism for phonographs



May 19, 1925.

B. D. SMITH REC. ORD CHANGiNG MECHANISM FOR PHbNOGRAPHS Filed Nov. 12, 1921 Y e Sheets-Sheet 1 w xw NV h .I.\\ 1% N i May 19, 1925. B. D. SMITH meme ME amusm F on Pubuoemmns RECORD CH 6 Sheets-Sheet v 2 Y Filed Nqv; 12 1921 May 19, 1925. {1,53 ,667

B. D. SMITH RECORD CHANGING MECHANISM FOR PHONOGRAPHSA v Filea Nov. 12,1921 s Sheets-Sheet s May 19,1925. j 1,538,667

B. D. SMITH RECORD CHANGING MECHANISM FOR PaouoGRAPRs F iled Nov. 12, 1921 s she ts-sheet 4 '5. D. SMITH RECORD CHANGING MECHANISM FOR PHONOGRAPHS May 19, 1925.

' 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Nov. 12, 1921 May 19, 1925.

. 1,538,66 7 B. D. SMITH RECORD CHANGING MECHANISM FOR PHONQGRAPHS Filed Nov 12, 1921 e sheets-sheet e Patented May 19,1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 'zanmcrmn'n n. smrrn, or LAGRANGE, GEORGIA, ASSIGNOR or ONE-HALF 'ro .IoIm AUDLEY GRANT, or ATLANTA, GEORGIA; ONE-SIXTH r o. ram) w. MARTIN, on NEW YORK, N.. Y.; AND ONE-SIXTH ro RAY B. WHITMAN, or nnmenroa'r, conmac'rrcur.

RECORD-CHANGING MECHANISM FOR PHONOGRAPHS.

Application flled li'ovember 12, 1921. SerlalNo. 514,768.

i To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, BLANGHARD D. SMITH,-

a citizen of the United States,,residing at Lagrange, in the county of Troup and State of Georgia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Record-Changing Mechanism for Phonographs, of which the following is a full,- clear, and exact descri tion. y

1 l\ y invention relates to phonographs or similar machines in which a provision is made for automatically playing in succession, a plurality of records without any attention on the part of the operator except that of starting the machine.

One object of my invention is to provide mechanism of the class described which will be simple in construction and applicable to all types of inachine employing flat record discs, and can be embodied therein without any substantial changes in the machine itself. t

Another object is to provide mechanism which, when one record has been will drop said record to an inoperative position. swing the tone arm to one side, drop a new record intoplace, and then bring the tone arm with its needle into position to begin playing the new record. All these movementsare brought about by the power driving the machine, and take. place in sequence, as recited. In the accompan ing drawings which illustrate one form'o my'invention:- Figure 1 is a perspectiveview of a conventional cabinet for a. phonograph;

Figure 2 is a' verticalsection through-the upper part thereof;

igure 3 is a top plan View of the po- 4 sition' of the parts as the tone arm' starts to move into position to play the .new record; I i Figures, 4, '5 and 6 are similar perspecl tive views showing successive steps in the movement'of the tone'arm and needle to operative record; I Figure 7 is a plan view similar to-Figure 3, but showing the position of the parts 1sdro to ino rative position; is a similar view of the parts after the ,record'that. has been played inthej position-they occupy just-following, pa wl-lflholds the wheelasitis moved step I 'member which operates the mechanism for ping the lower one.

played, 1

ratchet teeth and a special tooth 15. A.

position with relation to the new that of Fig. 7,.with the tone arm moving toward the side. of the record support;

Figure 9 is a somewhat diagrammatic view showing a part of the mechanism for dropping the new record; a a

Figure 10 is a detail View of the trip dropping the old record, swinging aside the tone arm, and dropping the new record, two positions of certain of the parts being shpiwn in full and dotted lines respectively an 4 I Figure 11" is a detail view showing the reserve records and the mechanism for drop- T he phonograph comprises the usual casing 1 and top 2, and has a vertical shaft' 3 which is driven by any suitable motor. Instead of the usual turntable this shaft carries at its top three arms 4, spaced equidistantly. These arms are provided with felt pads 5 upon which rest the records that have been dpllayed. Each arm has projecting upwar y from" its outer end a sleeve 6 and rotatably mounted within said sleeves, are rods 7 whichcarry at their upper ends relatively short arms 8 also provided with felt pads 9 to support the record while it is being played. Two of the rods 7 are provided at their lower ends beneath the arms 4, with crank arms 10 which are connected by links 11 tosimilar crank arms 12 on the third rod 7, so that when one rod. and the crank arm carried thereby "is rotated, the other two rods will be rotated in unison. V I 1 The third rod 7 is rotated in. the following manner: A bracket 13 ismounted on the framework of the phono raph just underlying the arms 4. This racketcarries a ratchet wheel 14 provided with the usual spring pawl 16 is mountedfon the bracket and normally lies 'just out of engagement with the teeth oft-lie ratchet wheel. A depending in 17 on one of the arms 4 is positioned to engage this pawl.16 on each revolution of the arm and causeit to advance theratchet wheel the" distance of one tooth against the tension of a light spring 18 which tends tworevolve the ratchet wheel inclockwise direction. A detention by step-through the drivin pawl 16. .This

pawl 19 is pivoted to the racket 13 at 20 and has integral therewith or fixed thereto arm 21.-

The tone arm 22 has a projecting arm 23 to which is connected a rather heavy rod that rests in a notch in the arm 21. While the machine is playing the tone arm moves inwardly and imparts to the rod 24 a horizontal motion, and the friction is suflicient to move the arm 21 and disengage the holdingdetent 19 from the teeth of the ratchet wheel 14. ,The ratchet wheel then rotates under the tension of its spring until the special tooth 15, which projects outwardly a considerable distance beyond the other teeth, engages the end of the arm 21 and stops the ratchet wheel. In other words, the

pin 17 rotates the ratchet wheel one step at each revolution of the disc, thus tensioning the spring 18 until the arm or rod 24 has Y moved sufficiently to release the detent pawl 19, when the wheel is rotated by its spring until stopped by the engagement of the special tooth with the detent pawl, after which the same action is repeated.

However, when the record has been finished, subsequent revolutions. of themeord disc do not move the tone arm and rod 24, and the ratchet wheel isturned until a post 25 carried by said wheel reaches a that may have been played and are resting on these arms.

It is understood that the records are guided at all times by a center fixed rod 27. After the record is dropped the fingers 8'are returned to position by a spring 28 (Fig. 3).

Surrounding the upper end of one of the sleeves 6 (Fig. 10) is ashort sleeve member '29 freely rotatable thereon. It has a hdoked projection '30 resting on the associated arm 8 and affording a support for the sleeve 29. Also integral therewith is a projection or trip 31 normally in the position shown in dotted lines inFigure 10, but movable to the position shown in fulllines. The sleeve is further provided with depending stop members 32 and 33 which extend downwardly far enough to engage the arm 4. When the record is being played the stop member 33 engages the arm 4, and when the arm 8 is moved outwardly as explained above, the sleeve 29 does not move therewith but remains in the dotted line position of Fig.10. But when the arm-8 returns, the sleeve moves with it, as the sleeve'is resting on said arm manner hereinafter and there is then nothin to 0 pose its movement. The parts arefiten rought to the full line position of Fig. 10, when the stop 32 engages the arm 4 and prevents further movement. When this projection is'thus in its outward position, t performs certain functions as will now be set forth.

After the record just played is dropped and the arm 8 has returned to normal posi tion setting the projection 31, the succeeding revolution of the turn tablebrings this rojec tion against a springy arm 34 carried y the tone arm (Fig. 8), and vswings the tone arm outWard-to'the position shown in Fig. 3. This-arm yields to allow the pro jection 31 to pass, but imparts sufficient momentum to swing the tone arm outwardly. It is understood that the tone arm is pivoted to swing in the usualmanner. At the limit of its movement it strikes a fixed stop 35 of a springy nature from which the tone arm rebounds with sufficient forceto swin'g it back over the next record which has in the mean time been droo ed into position in a escribed. Preferably the tone arm 'is provided with a light sprin (not shown) that tends to swingfit towar the center of the record.

The projection 31 next strikes a rod 36 and operates the mechanism for dro ping anew record into place. (Figs. 2 an 11). Supported by the top 2 of the cabinet is abracket 37 having a depending sleeve member 38 provided with an outwardly extending lip 39. The member 38 fits'within the openings in the centersof the records A quite closely, but the lip 39 which supports the lowermost record projects downwardly from the member 38 the thickness of a record, so that the bottom record is free to move sidewise. Passing through the sleeve member 38 is a rotatable rod 40 connected to and operated by the rod 36. Integral with the lower end of the rod 40 or attached thereto is a cam projection 41 so arranged that if rod 40 is rotated about 90 it will cam the lower record A off of the supporting lip 39 and permit it to drop over the post 27 upon the fingers 8. Light springs 42 attached to the. top of the cabinet bear upon the top record and hold the stack in position. Any suitable spring (not shown) may be used to return the rod 40 to normal position.

After this operation 'has taken place ,a

' When the tone arm is swung outward to i permit the next record to drop into place,

the needle drops slightly, and on the return of the tone arm it must be guided into place. This is done by means of mechanism'particularly illustrated, in Figs. 4, 5 and 6,

usage:

which show successive steps in this return movement.

Fastened to the sound box 44 is a ro ec-" tion 45 provided with a fixed vertica plate 46. This plate has a short vertical slot 47 and a camslot 48 in its lower portion.- A member 49 is carried b v 50 and 51 which work in the slots 48 and 47 respectively. Asmall sprin 52 pulls this member upwardly at all tlmes. The

needle 53 is held in its-asupport b a set screw 54 in the usual manner. T e cam slot .48 has a 'sto portion 55 which, by engagement with t e pin 50, serves to check a too rapid return swing of the tone arm. When t e tone arm starts swinging inwardly the parts are in the position of Fig. 4. A slight further movement brings them to a position where the member 49 engages the-edge of the record, and a continued movement will raise the diaphragm and needle to the Fig. 5 position where the needle is clear of the record. Upon a still further movement, the member 49 is drawn upwardly by its spring 52 and the lower end, followingthe cam slot 48, swings outwardly, so that the needle drops into engagement with the record while the member 49 is clear thereof. The. parts are now in while t 6 position, and continue therein record is being pla ed. When the tone arm is swung outwar lyto permit a change of records, the member 49 strikes a fixed stop 56 and moves the, parts from the Fig. 6 position to that ofFig. 4. The position of the other parts at this time is shown in Fig. 3. The phonograph may be driven from a suitable source of. electric power, diagrammatically illustrated at 57, and a switch 58 the Fig.

1 therein is controlled by an arm 59 connected to the tone arm. After the last record is played the tone arm will swing in toward the center, and this will break the circuit, 45

has just been played is dropped upon the arms 4. As soon as the arm 26moves out of engagement-with the post 25, the arms 8 1 .60

are returned to normal position" shown in Figs. 3 and 8 by the spring 28. This return movement sets the stop or trip 3 1 in operative position, p V Gont inued movementof the parts brings 'this tr'ip'Bragainst .the spring' arm 34 cartwo headed pins ried by the tone arm 22 andmoves the .-latter outwardly to. the Fig.- 3 position,

where it will not interfere with the drop- -.ping of the new record into playing position. The trip 31'nextengages the rod 36 and through its movement as explained in detail above, drops a new record into place. Just after this operation takes place, the

lower end of the stop arm 32 strikes a reset stop 43 and the trip 31 is moved-back into inoperative position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 10.

In the meantime the tone arm has started its return movement, the first effect of which is to disengage the pawl 19 from the ratchet 14 and allow itto return to a position where the post 25 is out of the path. of the. arm 26. The tone arm then passes through the positions shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, and the playing of the new record begins.

This sequence of operations continues until the last record has been played, when the inward movement of the tone arm coutinues until the connection 59 closes the switch 58 and stops the operation of the machine. If for any reason"a 'new record fails to drop into playing'position, the inward swinging of the tone arm would stop the drivin mechanism in similar fashion.

It is obvious that the invention .is not limited to an electrically operated machine. nor to any particular type of phonograph, and that various changes may be made in the specific details without de arting from the invention coverpd by t e appended claims. y

1 I claim as my"invention:

1. In a device of the class. described, the combination of a rotatable support for used records,- vertical sleeves carried thereby, rotatable rods in said sleeves, arms carried by the upper ends of said rods and normally constituting a support for the record that is being played, and means for automatically rotatingsaidrods and thereaifter swinging said arms from under the record to permit it to drop upon the first named support.

2. In a device 'of the class described, the combination of a:rotatable support for used records, vertical sleeves carried thereby, rotatable rods in said sleeves, arms carried by the upper ends of said rods and normally constituting a support for the record that is being played, connected crank arms on the lower ends of said rods, an operating arm on one rod, and means brought into position by the rotation'of the first named support to engage said operating arm and ,cause the rods to rotate, therebyswinginfi the supporting arms from under the r'ecor to permitit to drop. a

3. In a device of the class described, the

combination of a support for the record being played, comprising rotatable rods and arms carried by the upper ends of said rods,

means for automatically rotating said rods to move the arms from underneath a record and permit it to drop, and means for preventing the operation of the automatic.

5. In a device of the class described, thecombination of a bracket, a fixed -vertical I sleeve carried thereby and adapted to fit records, a rotatable rod within said sleeve,

a cam finger on its lower end lying within thereby causing the cam the central openings of a plurality of records, a lip carried by the lower end of the sleeve and adapted to support one of said the opening of the lower record, and means for automatically rotatinalsaid rod. and ger to slide a record sidewise until it drops off of said lip. 6. In adevice of the class described, the combination with the usual tone arm, of a rotatable support, vertical sleeves carried thereby, a trip carried by one of said sleeves, and means for setting said trip,

said trip whenset acting 'to swing said tone arm to an inoperative position.

7. In a device of the class described, the

. combination with the usual tone arm, and a support for reserve records, of a rotatable support, vertical sleeves carried thereby, a trip carried by one of said sleeves, means for setting said trip, said trip when set acting toswing said tone and to an inoperative position and then to release a reserve record from said support; v

8. In a'device of the class described, the combination of a rotatable support, vertical sleeves carried thereby, rotatable rods within' said sleeves, arms at-the upper ends'of said rods, means for rotating said rods to swin the arms outwardly, means to return said arms, a trip set by the return movement of one arm, and means controlled by said trip for'placing a new record 'inoperativeposition. I

.'9. In a'device of the class. described, the

combination with the usual tonearm, of

I moveable. arn'is, normally supporting the record being ,played, means for moving said ing a new record upon said arms.

controlled by said trip for moving said tone I arm to inoperative position, and then plac- 10. In a device of the class described, the combination with the usual tone arm, of movable arms, normally supporting the record being played, means for movin said arms to release'said record, means or returning said arms, a trip normally set by the return movement of one arm, means controlled by said trip for moving said tone arm to inoperative position and then placing a new record uponsaid arms, and means for thereafter resetting said trip toinoperative position.

11. In a device of the class described, the combination with the usual tone arm and needle, of a support for the record beingplayed, means for swinging the tone arm awa from said support, and a member carried by the tone arm adjacent the needle and engaging the edge of a record onthe support as the tone afin moves toward the support to lift the needle and position the sameover the record.

12. In a device of the class'described, the combination with, the usual tone arm and needle, of a support for the record being I played, means for swinging the tone arm away from said slipport, and a member slidabl' and pivota y arm a jacent vthe needle and engaging the edge of a record on the support as the tone arm moves toward the-support to lift the needle and position the same over the record, said member "then moving to inoperative position. I

'13. In adevice of the class described, the combination with the usual tone arm and needle, of a support for the record being played, means\fo r swinging the tone armaway fromsaid suport, a member slidablly and pivotally carried by the tone arm a jacent the needle andengaging the edge of 'a' record on the support as thetone arm moves toward the support to lift the needle and position the same overthe record, said member then moving to inoperative position, and a fixed stop for moving the member into operative position onthe outward movement of thetone arm. I In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed m. name.

I SMITH.

carried by the tone 

